Grilling Notes

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Tips and Techniques

Resting

 Resting, or standing, after cooking allows the meat to reabsorb its flavorful juices. If you serve the steak right away, those tasty juices will spill out onto the plate as soon as you cut into the meat. After the steak is done, transfer it from the grill to a platter, and loosely cover with foil. Let rest for five minutes per inch of thickness. Residual heat will cook steaks five to 10 degrees more during resting.

Flank steak (1-inch thick)

Grill Time

Rare:17 min

Med:19 min

Well:22 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

Grilling Notes

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Tips and Techniques

Perfectly-Shaped Burgers

After forming your patties, press the center slightly with thumb and forefinger, making a small indentation. When the hamburger cooks, the dimple will pop back out, creating a flat hamburger instead of one with a domelike shape.

Ground beef patties (1-inch thick)

Grill Time

Rare:10 min

Med:12 min

Well:14 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

160 °F

This is the USDA recommended minimum cooking temperature.

Grilling Notes

Medium fire, direct heat.

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Tips and Techniques

Resist the Urge to Press

The urge to press hamburgers on the grill is strong. We can't explain where that desire comes from, but pressing them forces out all the good juices. In addition, pressing compacts the uncooked beef, which makes the burgers cook unevenly. So in order to get evenly cooked and juicy hamburgers, resist the temptation.

Kebabs (1-1.5 inch cubes)

Grill Time

Rare:11 min

Med:13 min

Well:15 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

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Tips and Techniques

Consider a Poultry Roaster

When cooking whole chickens, try a poultry roaster to infuse flavor. Stand the bird on the cone-shaped dome and fill the tray below with beer, wine, or fruit juice. The rising steam cooks the chicken while adding subtle flavor from the liquid below.

Chicken drumsticks

Grill Time

14-16 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

160 °F

This is the USDA recommended minimum cooking temperature.

Grilling Notes

Medium fire, indirect heat. Grill until there are no traces of pink at center.

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Tips and Techniques

Tame the Flame

It happens to everyone. You start out with the correct temperature for coals and watch carefully, but from time to time a flare-up will occur. A squirt or two from a trigger-squeeze bottle filled with water is all that's needed to cool the burn. Be sure that the nozzle is on the spray setting, and squirt only the coals and not the chicken, so you don't wash off seasonings.

Boneless Thighs (3 oz. each)

Grill Time

10-12 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

160 °F

This is the USDA recommended minimum cooking temperature.

Grilling Notes

Medium fire, direct heat. Grill until there are no traces of pink at center.

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Tips and Techniques

Grill Basket

For very thin fish (1/4- to 1/2-inch thick) such as catfish, tilapia, or trout, a well-oiled grill basket will keep the meat from failling through the grates. Remove the fish immediately, or it will stick to the basket as it cools.

Fish steaks and fillets (.75-inch thick)

Grill Time

8-10 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

145 °F

This is the USDA recommended minimum cooking temperature.

Grilling Notes

Medium fire, direct heat. Done when opaque at center.

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Tips and Techniques

Simple Lifting

Lightly oiling, marinating, or using vegetable cooking spray on fish helps release the fillet from the grill when it's ready to be turned. How do you know when it's ready to turn? Provided your grill is clean and at medium-high temperature, the meat will naturally release from the grate when it's cooked.

Fish steaks and fillets (1-inch thick)

Grill Time

8-10 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

145 °F

This is the USDA recommended minimum cooking temperature.

Grilling Notes

Medium fire, direct heat. Done when opaque at center.

Cook These Recipes to Perfection

Tips and Techniques

Simple Lifting

Lightly oiling, marinating, or using vegetable cooking spray on fish helps release the fillet from the grill when it's ready to be turned. How do you know when it's ready to turn? Provided your grill is clean and at medium-high temperature, the meat will naturally release from the grate when it's cooked.

Whole fish (1-1.5-inches thick)

Grill Time

15-20 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

145 °F

This is the USDA recommended minimum cooking temperature.

Grilling Notes

Medium fire, indirect heat. Done when opaque at center.

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Tips and Techniques

Reach the Perfect Degree of Doneness

Check the fish for doneness by testing for flakiness with a fork, or making a small slit in the thickest part of the fish with a sharp knife. Cooked fish will be firm to the touch and opaque; undercooked fish will appear shiny and semitranslucent. Meat continues to cook after taken off the grill, so try to remove from the heat just slightly less done than you like to eat it.

Whole fish (2-2.5-inches thick)

Grill Time

20-30 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Notes

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Tips and Techniques

Shells On

When grilling shrimp directly on the grill, select large, unpeeled shrimp for a moist and tender result. The shell helps insulate the shrimp from the intense heat while keeping the shrimp moist. Medium-size or small shrimp are very difficult to grill to the correct degree of doneness.

Crabs, whole (about 2.5 lbs.)

Grill Time

10-12 min

Grilling times are meant to be guidelines. Times include turning once, just past the halfway point in the grilling time.

Grilling Temp

Grilling Notes

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Tips and Techniques

Glossary of Ribs

Buying ribs is easy if you know what to look for. Single-slab packages allow you to see all sides of the ribs. You want as much meat and as little fat as possible. Beef ribs have large bones with lots of meat. Spareribs have the least amount of meat and are considered the most flavorful. Baby back ribs have lots of meat between their short bones.

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